Silverlight vs. Adobe Flash - MLB's Video Player Strikes out on Opening Day
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The first week of April marked the beginning of baseball season andMajor League Baseball Advanced Media, the digital arm of MLB, decided to drop Microsoft's Silverlight for online video streaming after only one year of use and instead, return to Adobe for the start of the 2009 season. Originally, MLBAM gave Silverlight a major boost when it switched from Adobe in 2007 as part of the media player's launch, but MLBAM's Bob Bowman says the Adobe Flash Platform better matches their needs.
In a recent interview after the announcement to drop Silverlight, Bowman purposely refrained from making any specific or disparaging comments about Silverlight, giving only the cryptic response "Our experience with Silverlight has led us to where we are." Rather than focus on the dropping of Silverlight, Bowman described why a two-year deal with Adobe makes sense for MLBAM. "We did it because we serve up more live video than anybody and we need something flexible and reliable. You need to be able to turn it on and have it work. It needs to be scalable to support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous viewers and it needs to provide more than just video," Bowman said.
Though the specific problems that may -- or may not -- have occurred while using Silverlight remain unsaid, Bowman has contended publicly that the MLBAM is gaining absolutely no financial advantage with their decision to switch back to Adobe. This essentially means that no matter how much cheaper Silverlight may be to utilize, it's not worth the trouble.
Though the MLBAM is remaining quiet concerning the specifics of the switchover, sources close to the negotiations between the league and Microsoft have informed the media that it was a series of glitches and conflicts between the companies that led to the split. Initially, MLB wanted Microsoft to make it possible for users to download Silverlight without having to possess administrative rights. The problem was that when users are at work, it's often the company that possesses those rights and employees would need authorization to download the player. That frustrated plenty of MLB.com subscribers, according to the sources.
The other major issue was that baseball considered Silverlight too unstable. There were some high-profile glitches, including last year's opening day, which saw many MLB.com subscribers struggling to log in, while others were unable to watch entire games; this malfunction was said to last several days.
Fast-forward to the start of the 2009 season and what should occur? Subscribers of Major League Baseball's streaming-video service are complaining that the new player, now officially powered by Adobe, isn't ready for the big leagues. Sure, Adobe received plenty of favorable reviews from technology blogs, but countless MLB.com subscribers have complained about stuttering and stalling video while watching live streaming video of opening day. According to recent reports, many of the same problems continue. Subscribers of MLB.com's GameDay Audio service also reported that archived games haven't been accessible for days.
The irony of all of this, of course, isn't lost on Microsoft. Many, including MLB.com subscribers, are wondering when Adobe will get the boot. In a post shortly after the problems occurred, Christian Thilmany, a member of Microsoft's developer and platform group, referred to the problems in his blog and said, "Maybe they should have stayed with Silverlight."
The extent to which the glitches affected the live streaming is debatable. Many MLB subscribers say the interruptions were significant. Perhaps as a way to save face, Matt Gould, an MLBAM's spokesman, is reporting that the glitches affected less than 1 percent of the company's 500,000 subscribers. He is also contending that the problems didnot occur as a result of Adobe's player. Adobe has yet to specifically address the controversy, only releasing a simple statement: "We've been in regular contact with MLB.com, and have heard nothing but praise about the Flash platform."
Next: Which is Better: Silverlight or Adobe? >>
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